Weissman writes: "Donald Trump astounds the world with his casual American racism, while far-right and neo-fascist movements across Europe grow strong by hating others for their skin color, religious origin, or immigrant status. From the police and prosecutorial lynching of American blacks to Europe's increasingly barbaric treatment of refugees, the specifics differ. But hatred is catching, and the destructive forces on one side of the Atlantic will inevitably reinforce those on the other."

Donald Trump. (photo: Getty Images)

Bashing Blacks, Latinos, Jews, and Muslims: Never Again!

By Steve Weissman, Reader Supported News

01 September 15

onald Trump astounds the world with his casual American racism, while far-right and neo-fascist movements across Europe grow strong by hating others for their skin color, religious origin, or immigrant status. From the police and prosecutorial lynching of American blacks to Europe’s increasingly barbaric treatment of refugees, the specifics differ. But hatred is catching, and the destructive forces on one side of the Atlantic will inevitably reinforce those on the other.

Why inevitably? Think of the precedents.

Adolph Hitler greatly admired America’s “wholesome aversion for the Negroes” and was “passionately interested in the Ku Klux Klan.” The American car-maker Henry Ford published propaganda against “The International Jew” and openly supported the Nazis, as does the never-say-die octogenarian Willis Carto, who continues to teach that “Hitler’s defeat was the defeat of Europe. And of America.”

Carto is “undoubtedly the central figure in the post-World War II American far right” and he makes no bones about blaming Hitler’s defeat on “the Jew-Zionist international bankers’ conspiracy.” He spread this message in his widely circulated hate-sheet “The Spotlight,” backed the segregationist White Citizens Councils to fight against “the inevitable niggerification of America,” and created the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), which spread its Holocaust denial to Europe and the Middle East.

Bringing all this hate together, Carto organized the Liberty Lobby, “a big tent” for everyone on the far right, from Ku Klux Klansman David Duke to the libertarian Ron Paul, who used the lobby’s mailing list to sell subscriptions to his own racist newsletters.

The Donald may be one hell of a salesman, and he can draw on centuries of slavery, racial segregation, imperial wars, and the genocide of the Native Americans. But, like chickens coming home to roost, the arguments articulated by Willis Carto and his acolytes are now being parroted by the neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and Christian Identity activists applauding Trump’s racist provocations.

“I don’t think Trump is a white nationalist,” one of them told the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos. Nor is the loud-mouth candidate an ideological fascist, at least not yet. But, said his admirer, Trump reflected “an unconscious vision that white people have – that their grandchildren might be a hated minority in their own country. I think that scares us. They probably aren’t able to articulate it; I think it’s there. I think that, to a great degree, explains the Trump phenomenon. I think he is the only person who can tap into it.”

Both in the US and Europe, this tapping into nativist resentment, white and Christian nationalism, xenophobic intolerance, and racist hatred is already having catastrophic consequences, which will almost certainly get worse. The only thing that can stop it is if decent people drive a stake into its heart. But how?

This is the big question we need to put directly to Senator Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination (See here and here). Bernie is primarily fighting for greater economic and social equality with pragmatic programs that extend FDR’s New Deal. This is not a bad place to begin, since growing inequality only feeds the far-right and neo-Nazis. But he needs to explicitly target the hateful bashing of “outsiders” that these movements make their central organizing principal.

With help from Cornel West and disruptive pressure from Black Lives Matter, Sanders is belatedly making racially specific issues part of his campaign. But, like most old-fashioned socialists of whatever school, he still appears to view racism primarily as a symptom of economic causes to be cured by class-based economic solutions.

Class counts, to be sure, and economics determines much of the world in which we live. But, to borrow from the title of Brother Cornel’s master work, twenty-first century socialists have to understand that Race Matters. As he wrote in the preface to his 2001 edition, “Black people in the United States differ from all other modern people owing to the unprecedented levels of unregulated and unrestrained violence directed at them.” The violence continues without let-up, which is why the Sanders campaign has to make a priority of working with blacks, whites, and everyone else to stop it.

Sanders and those of us who support him must similarly make an all-out effort to stop the prejudice that Trump displays against Mexicans and other Latinos. As in the 1960s, when Bernie led pickets and sit-ins at the University of Chicago as campus president of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), white supremacy remains a defining issue of American life.

But this is just the start. The really tough issue for Sanders goes beyond race and the color line. If he is to help stifle the far-right and neo-fascist onslaught, he needs to make more explicit his opposition to the organized violence and hatred against Muslims. Wanting to focus on common-sense domestic programs, he has shied away from foreign policy except to answer questions and remind voters that he voted against both Iraq wars, while Hillary voted for the war in 2003. He now says he will spend more time on foreign policy, but his silence so far has weakened any systematic criticism of what my colleague William Boardman calls “America’s 14 years of continuous war in the Middle East and Africa.”

Bernie’s “critical but supportive posture on Israel,” in the words of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), similarly weakens any outspoken condemnation of Muslim-bashing, which now rivals Jew-bashing as a motivating force for the far-right and neo-fascists, especially in Europe. As Willis Carto’s American Free Press headlined an article on Marine Le Pen, the “National Front finds being ‘anti-Muslim’ better for business than being ‘anti-Semitic.’”

Speaking at a town hall in Cabot, Vermont, during last summer’s Gaza war, Bernie posed some tough questions for himself: “Has Israel over-reacted? Have they bombed U.N. facilities? The answer is yes, and that is terribly, terribly wrong,” he said.

“On the other hand – and there is another hand – you have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel – a fact – and you know where some of those missiles are coming from. They’re coming from populated areas; that’s a fact. Hamas is using money that came into Gaza for construction purposes – and God knows they need roads and all the things that they need – and used some of that money to build these very sophisticated tunnels into Israel for military purposes.”

According to JTA, hecklers interrupted, some shouting epithets.

“Excuse me, shut up, you don’t have the microphone,” Sanders said. “You asked the question, I’m answering it. This is called democracy. I am answering a question and I do not want to be disturbed.”

Sanders was right, there is always another hand, and as “an old Jew” (his term), he knows with which hand he identifies. This is his personal stance. The question is whether he can get beyond it for the greater good.

Those of us who have long supported an independent State of Palestine need to answer the same question. Largely because of the work of Willis Carto and his ideological stormtroopers, too many Palestinians and their supporters have bought into Holocaust denial and repeated the lies of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

Why have so many of us remained silent about this for so long? Mostly because we did not want to create an added burden for the underdogs. But we did our Palestinian comrades no favor, and we played into the hands of the neo-Nazis. If we are going to ask Bernie Sanders to help lead the fight against Muslim-bashing, we have to ask the Palestinians, the Egyptians, the Iranians and so many others to stop their Jew-bashing. Together, we all have to say, “Never again!” This is the only way we can begin to defeat the hatred into which Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen are tapping.

A veteran of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and the New Left monthly Ramparts, Steve Weissman lived for many years in London, working as a magazine writer and television producer. He now lives and works in France, where he is researching a new book, “Big Money and the Corporate State: How Global Banks, Corporations, and Speculators Rule and How to Nonviolently Break Their Hold.”

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

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United we stand, divided we fall. There is a zionist technique of funneling refugees into other "states" which causes culture shock (for both), unrest and violence. In the turmoil the "invaded" are turned against the "invadees". Quite effective. It's become the m.o. in the mideast.

Characterizing anyone who feels you should take care of your own first, as a "racist" seems to be superficial.

If the politicians of the world had not sold out their constituencies for whatever their local cocks were offering we would not have this situation in the first place. First weaken the country, destroy jobs and opportunities for a large portion of the population. Then funnel in refugees who will be perceived as taking what is left.

That's a nice, thoughtful photo of Trump atop this page but hardly anything about him in the article or comments. Have we run out of negative material about the Donald? Or is he not as important to the country's (and world's) ills as some like to imagine?

Maybe, the US should guarantee the security of both Israel and Palestine as well as the integrity of their borders. And Israel should cease offering asylum to any Jew who wishes to move there. Peace should be doable in the land of zion, with a little bit of give and take, it can be accomplished. And, both nations have so much to gain.

Peace is the last thing the Israelis want. Why do you think they bomb their neighbors, like Gaza, and steal their land, like the Golan? Israel is just Nazi Germany warmed over, complete with racial supremacist mythology and lust for blood.

Dongi, the thing is, you're reasonable and you're speaking like a mature human being. Unfortunately the powers that be in Israel are anything but either of these, and our American Congress is falling over each other to prove they are just as deluded and immature as Israel. And yes, Anne Frank is correct: Israel only wants to dominate and control and own all the land and force it's own paranoid, narcissistic and egomaniacal image of itself onto the whole region. We all, and especially American Jews, must recognize that "racial supremacist mythology" that is operating both in Israel and here in the US.

Absolutely right, Tazio. Both Jews and Arabs are Semitic peoples. But the right-wing Israelis are loathe to admit it or recognize it. They consider themselves more akin to Europeans and Westerners in general, and superior to the indigenous Middle Eastern peoples. In Jungian psychological terms, their semitic brothers and sisters have become the Israelis' "shadow" and are denigrated, belittled and de-humanized, just as Jews were by the Nazis. It's as if Israel is trying to prove they really are not the "other" but are as aryan as any northern European. This is why America and Europe support them against the "bad" Arabs and Muslims. And now Israelis have their own perfect "other" on whom they can dump all their feelings of lowliness from centuries of being the scapegoat of Europeans and others. And on and on goes the cycle of hatred, violence and revenge. It's insanity.

Unfortunately the hatred sowing abounds in parts of Europe and Washington DC where the Russians are the focus of vitriol. We have even had left writers support the neo-Nazis in the Urkraine, though they claim to support just the coup inspired regime change carried out against the elected government by the neo-Nazis. Just saying.

Personally, I think that it is a bit much to lay all of these demands on Bernie’s doorstep. I feel that the first step should be for a few people like Weissman and others, perhaps, Cornel West, to get a private audience with Sanders and discuss these matters with him to see if not an agreement, at least, an understanding could be reached.

Many people always want someone else to speak out. There will be foreign policy questions at the debates – maybe even one debate devoted to the issue. Let’s see what can be done thoughtfully and peacefully before we go to war with the only candidate that gives many of us any hope at all for the future.

It's long since time that Bernie Sanders declares that the only real solution to the Israel-Palestinian/Arab conflict is full implementation of hard-won international law, including human rights law, i.e., the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, the Rome Statutes, etc.

By so doing, Bernie would be demanding that Israel withdraw from all lands it occupied during the war it launched on 5 June 1967, i.e., the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip (which, despite Israel's repositioning of the IDF, is still occupied under international law), Syria's Golan Heights and Lebanon's Shebaa Farms.

In accordance with its pledge to abide by UN Resolution 194 as a precondition for UN admittance in 1949 (after being rejected twice), Israel must also agree to cooperate in achieving a "just" solution to the festering 67 year Palestinian refugee problem.

As declared in the US supported 2002 Arab League Beirut Summit Peace Initiative, if Israel complies with international law and its previous commitments, all Arab states will recognize Israel as a sovereign state, exchange ambassadors, establish tourism and trade, etc. The Summit Initiative has also been agreed to by the PA, Hezbollah and non-Arab Iran. Hamas has also signed on subject to a Palestinian plebiscite and a corridor connecting the Gaza Strip with the West Bank.

There is no special provision in international law that enables Israel to violate it with impunity.

Not that the US is in the best position to lecture any other country on abiding by International Law, but any campaign calling for justice should loudly demand that both the US and Israel (and other "allies") must abide by International Law.

Stop falling into arguing from the basis of false narratives and simple demand becoming law abiding.

'the war [Israel !!!] launched on 5 June, 1967???? Important to stick to facts, or the rest of what you say will be suspect. Egypt and its pals LAUNCHED a war to eliminate Israel in 1967... They didn't win and there has been sour grapes ever since.

This does not mean that I do not agree that the treatment of the Palestinians has been disgusting. But ... the placing of bombs against Israeli school buses and capture and murder of those kids was not also disgusting.

With over ten years of experience visiting Nigeria, and witnessing the change from peaceful co-existence to fear and distrust, I have to blame the Muslims and more specifically Saudi Arabia, The Saudi's have used their wealth to fund fundamental teaching Madrases throughout Sunni Islamic world. Their teachers promote the hatred of all non-fundsamental Muslims.

In Nigeria the birth rate in the Muslim half of the country far exceeds that of the Christian southern half. As the Muslims have grown in number they have moved south and started demanding changes to the culture of the Christians; when they (a small group of Muslim activists) did not get their way they turned to threats and then actual bombings and kidnappings.

Europe is now experiencing the early stage of the same problem. Is the US that far behind, visit lancing or Dearborn MI for a day and two. Muslims are rapidly taking control of both cities, and demanding their culture become dominant.

Yes, Saudi Arabia is the #1 supporter of "Muslim Terrorism," but this "clash of civilizations" between Islam and "the West" narrative has been promoted since the early 1950s as a specious explanation of conflicts in, from and between Middle-Eastern and Muslim-majority nations.

I hate to have to admit it, but largely we have FDR to thank for the dominance of the House of Saud.

Fortunately there have been no provocations in Nigeria over the past 65 years by agencies of the US government or by transnational corporations, especially but not limited to oil corporations. Fortunately. Because if such provocations HAD occurred, the result would look a great deal like what we are seeing in Nigeria today.

When you talk to Nigerians in Abuja they have no idea why some of the Muslims have suddenly become violent. But they also cannot explain why the supposedly peaceful majority of Muslims do not assist in stopping the violence. At this time more than 2000 young Christian girls have been kidnapped and been forced in the marriages to produce babies.

Another mystery, Midwest: why don't more Christians stand against the murders of thousands of Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere? The average individual either doesn't care or feels certain religious types deserve it, or simply cannot do anything about it. Warring parties are extremely powerful now.

“On the other hand – and there is another hand – you have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel – a fact – and you know where some of those missiles are coming from. They’re coming from populated areas; that’s a fact. Hamas is using money that came into Gaza for construction purposes – and God knows they need roads and all the things that they need – and used some of that money to build these very sophisticated tunnels into Israel for military purposes.”“On the other hand – and there is another hand – you have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel – a fact – and you know where some of those missiles are coming from. They’re coming from populated areas; that’s a fact. Hamas is using money that came into Gaza for construction purposes – and God knows they need roads and all the things that they need – and used some of that money to build these very sophisticated tunnels into Israel for military purposes.”

So this is a problem for Bernie Sanders, who must be questioned, who must act, who must give up any criticism of Israel? I take it all the other Democratic candidates (looking at you, Hillary) are okay on these issues?

I object to the usage of names of countries such as Israel, U.S., Gaza etc. Say it right, Israeli Government, United States Government, etc. I live in the United States and I do not agree with our government's treatment of most issues. And another thing, calling this a democracy is silly, call it a business, that's what we are now.

I can't recall the term for it, but the use of the name of an object or thing to refer to actions made by an individual or group is common.

For instance, we often hear "The White House said," meaning "someone who is somehow attached to the current Presidential Administration said..."

It's definitely true that in the cases you note, this usage disallows any nuance. Best would be something like "the right-wing coalition of Likud, Home Party and other groups which currently have controlling influence over the actions of the State of Israel," etc.

Yes. The U.S. was never intended to be a democracy. At its most inclusive, it could be a representative democracy (or a "republic"), but even that has rarely if ever been the case.

In practice, the U.S. has always been some form of oligarchy, wherein it is controlled by and for a relatively small portion of the citizenry.

MidwestTom: You're missing one important point: hatred, injustice, the promotion of Nationalist War Crimes are not only committed by Arabs or Muslims, only. Of course, we can name instantes and specific times, dates, occurances; but, honesty appraising this phenomina, all nations, religiones, races are guilty of these dastardly deeds. We will never get close to solving mankind's woes, by not addressing the real issues. Killing the killers perpetrates more killing. We have to focus on using our resources, skills and technology to edúcate, emloy, house, cure and feed our world populations. You'lld be surprised How peaceful it would get without all the wretchedness. We need a plan that includes everyone. Right now, our flags honor/represent territorial street gangs.

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